Changing Tides
by JScribz
Summary: 21 year old Bruce, washes ashore on an uncharted island and falls in love with Princess Diana.  He made a deal to return to society with a vow to never see her again. But what happens when they meet face to face in his superhero persona? BM/WW
1. Chapter 1

**Changing Tides**

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**CHAPTER I: The New World**

"Hey twerp, dun cha think ya should get back into 'em bunkers?" The old man yelled as he wobbled towards him holding onto both the wall and ceiling with all his might to prevent himself from falling overboard. He heavily accented his 'T' sounds, which made it sound like he was always scolding someone. He was drenched with water from both the pouring rain and the waves which constantly engulfed the entire boat. His yellow rain hat flew off of his head and landed at the feet of young Bruce.

"This storm wasn't in the weather report," Bruce had to raise his voice in order to be heard over the sound of the waves as they collided against the side of the boat. He bent down to pick up the man's hat when a large wave rolled over and onto the ship, drowning Bruce. The captain doubled over laughing hysterically at Bruce. Bruce was completely soaked from head to toe; his sleek black hair covered his eyes, his face became pale due to the freezing water and his clothes were tightly wound around him showing his perfectly chiseled figure. He got back up to his feet and ran his hand through his hair, pulling it back. He cocked an eyebrow at the old man as he handed him the hat.

"Why you headin' down to Africa anyways? Wouldn't it be easier ta juss get a plane goin'?" He bellowed at him. The storm was steadily getting stronger and the waves only became more violent. Bruce squinted trying to see past the constant sprays of sea water that intervened the space between them.

"I have relatives over there, thought it'd be nice to travel by sea for once," Bruce lied flawlessly. Another wave tumbled over onto the deck but this time he evaded it without any difficulty. The captain just gave him a one eyed look and shrugged.

"You boys these days…I dun know what to expect"

"The worst," Bruce answered for him, grinning boyishly. The old man took a second before he doubled over laughing again. After he recovered from his momentary laugh he turned back to Bruce and tilted his chin up a bit and looked down at him.

"Juss be careful, eh? Don't need no trouble with them boys in Speedos and donuts," The man chuckled at his own joke. He turned around and gave a slight wave to Bruce as he stumbled away. Bruce remained where he was and looked out into sea. After a few minutes he decided it would be best to head in, where it was warm and dry. He turned around and began to open the sliding door when a large wave crashed over him and pulled him back out to the deck of the boat. He tried to recover from the attack but failed to do so; another large wave came rolling onto the ship and pulled him overboard. The last thing Bruce heard was the sound of the old man yelling out to him, but it was too late. The waves pushed him under and he soon lost conscious.

_1 Day Later_

Bruce awoke and found himself on land, the gritty feeling of sand covered his entire body. He just lay there with his eyes opened and took a look around at his surroundings. He was on a vast empty beach. He attempted to get up onto his feet but found it more than difficult to do so. He remained on the ground and reached over to touch his ribs. He grunted in response. He assumed that around three of his ribs were broken. He tried to roll over onto his back to get a better view of his surroundings. Right when he turned around he cried in excruciating pain. He clenched his jaw tightly and groaned in pain. His ribs felt like they were being ripped apart.

Bruce peeled his eyes open to find a bare heel grinding down on the region where he had broken his ribs. He let out another groan before he looked up to see who it was that was causing him the deliberate pain. He held his breathe when he first saw the beautiful, long silky black haired, sapphire blue eyed young lady standing above him. All she was wearing was a loosely fit white female toga with a golden sash. His eyes widened at the appreciative view of her.

Following the path of his eyes, the young woman became flushed and bent down to pick up Bruce by his shirt collar. She lifted him up so that his feet were barely touching the ground and stared him in the eye. Bruce groaned in pain realizing it wasn't just his ribs that were injured, but also his collarbone that was fractured.

"Who are you?" The woman asked forcefully. Her glare beat down on Bruce as he remained motionless still crying out in pain.

"Nngh…" He let out a groan when she shook her grip on him, which created contact between his injured collarbone and her fist. He opened his eyes to look at her directly in the eye.

"Answer," She demanded,

"L-ladies first," he whispered taking in sharp increments of breathe. His gaze remained steadily on hers as he watched for her next movement. She jabbed him in the rib cage with her free hand. He cried out in utter agony when she began to twist and turn her fingers as she dug deeper and deeper into his sides. When she finally let him go, he fell onto his knees and toppled over in excruciating pain. His chest heaved heavily to help him try and catch his breathe. The woman towered over him, waiting for him to speak.

"Br-Bruce," He replied his breathe jagged and short, "that's my n-name,"

She remained as still as a statue, still waiting for him to gather his breathe. He finally looked up at her, he had to squint his eyes because of the sun's rays. She just looked down at him with an infuriated expression painted on her beautiful face. Finally she spoke up,

"What are you doing here?"

"I d-don't know," He replied shaking his head as he looked out towards the sea, "C-capsized,"

She again, remained silent and just watched him with eyes that analyzed his every move. Bruce tried to recap on the events that had just happened to him. He was capsized, washed ashore on some beach, met a very attractive young woman and got beat up by her. Now that he mentions it, the woman has a crazy amount of strength if she's able to pick him up off of his feet with one hand, and she was extremely brutal to some extent. He looked at her once again and noticed her looking away into the distance. He follows her gaze and spots a castle-like building located many miles away on top of a cliff. He narrowed his eyes trying to get a better look at it, but he was soon interrupted when she picked him up by his shirt collar once more. She tried to punch him again, but this time he reacted faster and blocked her punch. His broken bones protested and began to throb from the motion.

"What the h-hell?" Bruce yelled at her,

"You're a man," She seethed through her teeth, "You're not supposed to be here!"

"Let's be more diplomatic about this! Put me down!" He grabbed her wrist trying to pry her hand off of him, but she wouldn't budge. He glared at her waiting for her to let him go. She narrowed her eyes at him and finally released him. But he took the opportunity to pin her down. Bruce slid the heel of his right foot under her and she collapsed backwards into the sand. He quickly got up and wrapped her arms around her neck and held them down with his hands. He kneed her legs down so that she wouldn't be able to kick him and with his other leg he pressed down on her lower stomach. She struggled for a few seconds before realizing it was futile. She remained still underneath him and simply glared into his eyes intensely. Her vivid blue eyes turned to a darker shade as she watched him cautiously. Bruce took a couple of breathes before continuing his assault.

"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?" He muttered between his breathes. She was still glaring at him. He closed his eyes and shook his head in dismay; this is going to be harder than he had first expected.

"Men aren't supposed to be here?" He asked silently when he looked back towards the direction of the castle, "What's that suppose to mean?"

"It's exactly as it sounds, you're not supposed to be here. You're not_ allowed_ to be here," She spit her words at him. He looked back down at her and arched an eyebrow.

"Where is this place?" She took a second to respond, deciding whether or not it would wise to tell a stranger about the island.

"Themyscira," she replied, barely audible. Bruce furrowed his eyebrow, trying to reminiscence where he had heard the name before.

"Island of Paradise?" he muttered to himself,

"Yes…" She looked at him with a puzzled expression, "How do you know of it?"

"I know my Greek mythology,"

The young woman just looked at him, doubting his every word. The island of Paradise shouldn't be something a normal human knows about; it shouldn't even be written in any text that man knows.

"You're an Amazon," He replied bluntly with realization in his voice. Her eyes widened in surprise, how does he know about all of this?

"And you're not a normal human man," she stated trying to struggle against his grip on her once again. He looked at her with amusement in his eyes. She had caught him dead on. The helpless position she was in was another hint of his unusual prowess as a human. He knew how to make someone powerless, how to take advantages of the situation; he was trained. It was the first time she had been captured like this; put into a helpless position. He would be praised as a great warrior if it weren't for him being a man. She laughed in the inside; he would be brutally executed by her mother if he was found roaming around on the island.

"Help me get back," he loosened his grip on her, letting her go free. She quickly jumped back and away from him a few feet. She remained in a guarded position, watching him carefully. Bruce remained on the sand, kneeling. The pain hasn't resided, and straining his muscles while keeping her in that position had taken a lot out of him. She watched him, analyzing the condition of his body. A normal human wouldn't have been able to stand that sort of injury for as long as he had; they would've lost conscious by then. It added to her conclusion that he wasn't just any human man.

"Hatred for men, superhuman strength, warrior instincts; either you're a feminist on steroids or you're an Amazon," He shot her a quick grin, "You tell me,"

Suddenly the sound of horses rang from behind him, in the jungle. He quickly turned his head to see what it was, but he hit in the back of his head by something strong. He fell into an unconscious state, noting that it was the woman who had knocked him out. He heard the voices of a group of woman as they approached.

"Princess Diana, what are you doing out here? You must return to the palace, the queen awaits you…"

"We must go, please hurry,"

Then her heard her voice, "Yes, tell my mother I will accompany her soon – I have matters to attend to first,"

As he slowly began to lose his conscious he grinned and thought to himself,

So her name is _Diana_.

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**Author's Note**

Hi guys! I'm back from a very very short break (I believe it was like 4 days!). I finished my other story, Points of Redemption and was planning on taking a longer break from writing/planning stories, but suddenly this idea came up. This chapter was considerably slow and wordy because it took me more than 2 days to type it up and the story was still processing in my head. I promise there will be more dialog in the next chapter so please bare with me! Hope you like the idea so far. Enjoy!

Disclaimer:

-It's not going to follow the DCU timeline, meaning the characters and times and stuff will all be jumbled up. You just need to know the basics of the original characters and following the story will be easy.

-I'm not a huge DCU fan and I don't know all the details, so I'll get this out there: Some of the information I use/say will probably be wrong and if it gets on your nerves, just reply back with a comment and advise me it's wrong. That way I can go back and edit it so that it will make more sense. :)

-Bruce will be considerably young in this story as will Diana be. True, the superheros are in their 30s but I wanted to play around with the characters so they'll end up being around their mid/late 20s.


	2. Chapter 2

**Changing Tides**

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**CHAPTER II: PARADISE AT IT'S FINEST**

Bruce continued to stir in his sleep, every now and then he would mumble things that would sound as if he was calling out 'mother' and 'father'. As Diana watched him in his slumber a cloud of sympathy shrouded her. She should be more cautious around him, but there was something about him that made her feel oddly safe. If her mother found out that she was showing hospitality to a man, she would not even think twice before sending her into complete exile. Diana slightly shivered at the thought of becoming one of the many victims of her mother's harsh punishments. She glanced at the face of the man who was lying on the floor. Perhaps it was worth it to help him. The corners of her mouth curved into a light smile. It was amusing how she had always hated men until she met her first one. They didn't seem as bad as her mother and the others portrayed them as, well at least not this one.

She quietly rose from the ground and walked over to the mouth of the cave they found sheltered in. She began to pace the entrance in deep thought. How will she ever get him off of the island? Make him swim? Build a raft? Build a plane? The simplest and most logical choice would be to go and steal the invisible plane from her mother. But that would most likely mean complete exile _for the rest of eternity_. It would also prove difficult to wind through the palace without getting caught; after all Bruce was still injured. Diana sighed in frustration; there was no easy way out of this situation. Suddenly she heard shuffling from behind her, back in the cave. She quickly turned around to Bruce attempting to sit up.

He was shirtless with bandages wrapped around his entire torso. His ribs were severally wounded and there was nothing much she could do except to reposition a couple of them back into place. Only time and good care would be able to heal his fractured collarbone. She had made him a make-shift sling from the hem of her robe. He looked extremely exhausted but he didn't seem to have a high fever anymore. She sighed to herself in relief; the worst of it was over, now he just needed some time to heal completely.

Bruce's eyes fell upon her, his usual vivid blue eyes were dull due to his fatigue. He looked up into her eyes and kept his gaze steadily on them.

"How long have I been out for?" his voice was husky and weak,

"Two days," Diana replied. He didn't respond, instead he took a good look at his surroundings. Bruce then tried to get up on his own but ended up falling back down, groaning in pain. Diana quickly strode over to his side and helped him ease back into a comfortable position.

"It's best that you don't move around too much for the time being," she stated as she settled him against a flat section of the wall,

"Is that a personal invitation to stay longer?" He flashed a feeble grin at her. She slightly rolled her eyes at him in reply. His expression quickly changed to one of concern as he realized the situation he was in.

"How am I going to get out of here…?"

Diana bit her lower lip and remained quiet for a moment. She finally let out a sigh and settled down next to him and replied,

"I have a few ideas,"

.::_Five Days Later_::.

As he slowly walked the length of the beach, he took in the beautiful scenery of the shoreline. He had never been anywhere so calming. If it weren't for his urgency to leave the place, he would not have minded staying for a few more weeks. A get-away from Gotham never felt so good. He stood still and closed his eyes, a light sea breeze swept across his face. The wet and salty taste was something rather enjoyable. The nightmares that used to haunt him almost every night had suddenly disappeared during his stay on the island. It wasn't just the comfortable environment the island had provided him with though.

He spotted her a few yards down the beach. She was wearing a pure white toga with the hem pulled up a bit, revealing more skin around her thighs. He gleamed at her beautiful figure. Surely he had dated plenty of glamorous super models, but she was well-beyond all of them. It wasn't just her body that had attracted him, but also her pure heart. The doubt that clouded his mind claiming that everyone was untrustworthy faded quickly the moment he had met her. She was innocent, pure and loving. He sighed loudly in disappointment; it's too bad she hates men.

They had many conversations during his stay on the island. They often discussed various topics ranging from military strategies to more personal ones. Over the past few days they had learned a great deal about each other, and it had only left them wanting to know more about each other. Bruce felt a deep connection between the two of them, but she had always seemed like she was trying to keep her distance from him. Perhaps it was just her instincts kicking in, telling her he was a man and men were no good.

As he approached her, she slowly looked up and gave him a small smile before looking back down to continue her work. They both decided the best option would be to make a sturdy raft. Even though it wasn't the most plausible, it was the only one they could work on at the moment. He had no complaints about it, but he was secretly hoping that it would take longer to build it than first expected. But his luck ran out, they were already halfway done with it. Diana's inhuman strength had made the progress much quicker. He couldn't be of much help, since he was still wrapped up in bandages. Nonetheless he had healed a considerable amount. Every now and then he would offer to help her, but she would reject the offer and tell him to rest up for the long journey he would have to encounter on sea. He enjoyed watching her at work; she was skilled on numerous levels. She wasn't made of brute strength; everything she did she calculated to make sure she'd spend the least amount of time and energy possible.

When she had finished her portion for the day, she walked over by his side and collapsed into the sand. Bruce sat down and joined her as they watched the sun set in the ocean horizon. The sky was painted a deep purple as the stars became visible. They sat there in complete silent, both just watching the magnificent change in the sky. Bruce quietly leaned back a bit and stole a glance at her from behind. She had tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, revealing a bit of her slender neck. Her long silky hair was being tossed around by the wind that had picked up. The moment was quickly interrupted by the sound of her stomach growling. Bruce paused a second before bursting out laughing hysterically. Diana turned her head and glared at him with both irritation and embarrassment. She placed a light punch on his arm and he yelped in pain. As his laughter came to a stop, he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Let's go eat," Bruce continued to grin as he stumbled to get back up to his feet. Diana got up and helped him stand. He nodded his head slightly in a thankful gesture. They began to walk side by side back to their shelter.

"What's it like?" Bruce began, "to have superhuman abilities?"

Taken by surprise by his sudden question, Diana remained silent for a bit before responding.

"I like to consider them privileges; they could be taken from me at any given moment," She just stared up ahead into the incoming jungle. Bruce softly nodded his head satisfied by her answer. They walked into the dark jungle in silence, until Diana spoke up.

"What's _your_ world like?" She asked, unintentionally accenting the 'your' in her question. Bruce knew she was referring to 'man's world', as the Amazons titled it.

"Noisy," was the first thing that came into his mind when he thought of Gotham, "it's _very_ noisy,"

There was a small muffled laugh from her direction. He turned to face her.

"I wouldn't mind some of that," Bruce cocked an eyebrow,

"That's what you think," In response she smiled faintly, looked down and responded in a small voice,

"No, it's what I _want_,"

Bruce looked at her with understanding and sympathy. Just like him, she was also stuck in some place she didn't want to be. He was stuck in the past, while she was stuck on this island. Bruce gave her a crooked grin and with a sudden impulse took her hand into his. He quickly regretted doing so, thinking that she might reject him and pull-away, but instead she froze for a quick second before relaxing her hand into his. She turned to a shade of red and tried to look away, avoiding eye contact with him. He couldn't help but grin from ear to ear; perhaps she didn't hate him so much. He squeezed her hand tightly before he started running down the trail with her hand still in his. He dragged her along the pathway yelling at him to either slow down or stop. She had every chance to let go of his hand, but she just held on. She enjoyed the feeling of his warm, broad hand holding hers.

He finally came to a stop a few feet in front of the entrance to the cave, but Diana was unaware and walked right into him. She muttered in annoyance, demanding he tell her why he suddenly stopped, but she soon realized why. Right in front of the two, by the entrance of the cave; were four Amazonian warriors glaring at them. Then the 4 pairs of eyes fell upon their intertwined fingers. Bruce clenched his jaw tightly as Diana bit her lower lip.

Her mother would be absolutely _delighted_ to hear about this.

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AUTHORS NOTE:

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Hey guys! I was delighted to hear from a few of you. All the criticisms were very helpful and I hope to get back to editing chapter one ASAP. Hopefully this chapter was more appealing and contains less grammatical errors compared to the first.

Thanks for the support and reviews~!

Chapter three will be up soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**Changing Tides**

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**CHAPTER III: This is it**

Bruce tightened the muscles of his arms trying to keep them from falling asleep. He had been frozen in the same exact position for at least two hours. His hands were tied behind his back and his ankles were joint together. He was kneeling in front of the queens throne, awaiting his judgment. This time he attempted to flex the muscles of his legs, but he only found numbness. To those watching him, he remained as still as a statue. His eyes were shut tight as he tried to listen in on the conversation taking place a couple of meters away from his position. Eavesdropping on the Queen and Diana was a difficult task, the sound of other Amazonian warriors sparing was not far off and interfered with his attempts. Though his eyes were closed, he could indefinitely feel the hateful intense glares of the guards who encircled him.

Bruce understood that what Diana did was considered a high crime amongst her people. In a land where men are seen as evil and spiteful, she showed him hospitality and kept his presence a secret from her very own mother. Diana was a princess amongst her people, but that did not mean her punishment would be any less harsh than it would've been had it been any other warrior on the island. He began to blame himself for it all. If he had not injured himself so severely, he would not have needed her assistance in making his escape. It was one of the very few times he found himself in a situation where he was completely helpless. He didn't know what to do. They would either imprison him for who knows how long or kill him. The later seemed more plausible for the infamous Amazonian queen to choose.

Instinctively his eyes shot open at the sound of incoming footsteps. He looked up and saw the queen approach him with a death glare violating his own eyes. He quickly glanced over to Diana who still stood at the place she and her mother had their conversation. She looked at him with a pained expression crossing her face. He interpreted it as if she was apologizing for the coming events. It took him less than a second to realize what she was apologizing for. He softened his gaze at her and nodded his head in understanding.

The Queen continued to approach him at a steady pace. He lightly fluttered his eye lids shut, accepting his coming fate. Then with a swift movement, he was knocked unconscious.

He first felt the cold marble tiles pressed up against his face, and then he felt the unbearable pain of his body as the soreness crept upon him. Groaning, he opened his eyes and attempted to get up. A burning pain shot up his sides, his ribs started to ache uncontrollably. He grinded his teeth as he fell right back onto the ground and curled up into a ball, crying silently in pain. He was definitely alive, but it was too dark to say where they've placed him. He narrowed his eyes when he saw two tall figures standing side by side a few feet away from him. They were probably the guards, meaning he was in a cell. Their backs were faced to him. As he continued to groan in pain, they never flinched.

He laid still on the dark cold floor. _What could he do? Nothing. Was he every going to get out? Probably not. What happened to Diana?_ His forehead creased as he began to worry. _Was she I the same situation as he was? Worse? Better? Where was she? How is she?_ He sighed quietly and closed his eyes in frustration. There was no way he could possibly find out.

"Mother, don't you think you should consider-"

"-Diana, you are a princess amongst the Amazonian warriors…Do NOT let this mere mortal _man_ haze your sense of judgment. He is _evil_, just as the rest of them are," Hippolyta stammered. Disappointment was evident in her every word.

"I understand _your_ hatred for men, but that doesn't justify your cruel methods of handling them. This one's diff-"

"'_this one'_. You say it as though you've encountered more than one of those filthy beings,"

"Of the many stories you've told me about them, he is different," Diana's voice rose unintentionally. Her mother was constantly interrupting her midsentence and made it rather frustrating to communicate with her.

"Stories? My dear child, they are more than simple tales I've told you-they are testimonies. He will lie, he will cause you pain, he will betray you and he will use you," Hippolyta gave a deep sigh before continueing, "child, do not make me do things I do not wish to do,"

"Such as?" Diana replied stubbornly, "Mother, Queen Hippolyta of the Amazonians. I have _never_ doubted your judgement, for I believe they were all in our best interest. But today, I defy your decision. We may hate men for doing wrong, but we can not hate a single man for being born as one of them," The princess looked up at her mother who stood at the foot of her throne, "Just as I have respected your judgement, I wish that you would trust mine,"

Stunned, Hippolyta could only glare down at her precious daughter. She had never acted like this, _ever_. Diana was always obedient and wise, Athena had blessed her generiously. It amazed her that her daughter who grew up with a mentality that all men were evil, would be easily swayed like this. She shook her head, bemused by what she was going to say next.

"Bring the prisoner to me," She demanded to the warriors. Diana's face instantly lite up in hope.

"Thank yo-" She was cut off by her mother quickly.

"We shall discuss a deal," She replied coldly, narrowing her eyes at her daughter.

The guards tugged tightly at the ropes around Bruce's wrists. His ankles were free, but he had a very hard time walking. His entire body was screaming out in pain, it felt as though every bone in his body had completely shattered and the pieces were pressing against the surface of his skin. He groaned in protest when one of the guards shoved his shoulder into the frame of the door. He wanted to ask them where they were taking him, but his throat was too dry to even make out a simple word. _Were they taking him out to the execution grounds? _His thoughts were cool and there was no panick evident in his body. He was already expecting this. There was nothing left to worry about or even hope for.

As they reached their destination, he widened his eyes. This was the sacred grounds. The place where he was before when the Queen made a judgement call. He looked around and spotted the Queen sitting on her throne glaring down at him. Diana was standing at the foot of her throne looking over at Bruce will a hint of hope glinting in her beautiful blue eyes. _What was happening?_ Possibilities began to race through his mind. _Release, execution, judgement_. _Perhaps a wedding?_ He laughed to himself in the inside, pathetically. That would be extremely wishful thinking.

"Untie him," The Queen ordered the guards. They quickly shuffled over to him and untied his wrists. He shook them to get rid of the stiffness that had accumulated.

Bruce looked up at the Queen and waited for her to say what she had to.

"Mortal human," she began, "I give you my word to release you and return you to man's world, if you agree to my terms,"

Bruce opened his mouth slightly in surprise. She was releasing him with a deal.

"You will be banished from this island. You will keep the whereabouts of this island a secret. And you will never see Diana again. Not until you die and lay within the depths of Tartarus." The Queen's voice was harsh and demanding. Bruce just remained as still as a statue, taking it all in. He would have no problem with staying off of the island and never speaking of it to anyone, but the actual verbal agreement to never see Diana again had hit him hard. He knew he would never be able to see her ever again, she would never get off of the island and he would never be able to get on it. But actually hearing the words put into play, made it more of a punch in the face rather than a simple realization. He looked over to Diana, she was looking at the floor, an aura of disappointment shrouded around her. Bruce swallowed hard and looked back up at the queen with stern eyes.

"Yes, I agree to your terms," Diana's eyes shot up to look at Bruce. _Why did it surprise her?_ _It was the only way out anyways…It was either death or this_. She smiled warily when she saw Bruce returned her gaze.

"Good. I will request of the God Hermes to send you on your way-"

"My Queen, if I may have a short word with the princess before my departure," He cut her off desperatly. He needed to speak to her, to see her up close one last time.

The Queen shot him a look of annoyance and disapproval but nodded in reply, "Quickly,"

Bruce stood a few feet behind her, watching her from afar. They had been silent for what felt like the longest time. She was at the end of the balcony watching the waves as they washed onto the shore. Her silhoutte, traced by the strands of moonlight, looked absolutely amazing. Over the past few days Bruce came to conclude that she was the defition of perfection. He skimmed her figure with his eyes, careful to take in every detail and remember all of it. His eyes narrowed when he reached her feet and stood there, frozen.

She spun around and slowly walked towards him, her eyes steady on his face. He was looking down, but he was aware of her approaching him. Finally when she was merely a foot away he raised his gaze to look into her eyes. He smiled weakily. She feebly smiled back. He looked like a mess, his hair was disheveled, his eyes lost their shine, his lips were chapped and he lost considerable amount of weight since the first time she had meet him, but nonetheless he looked amazing. He was the embodiment of a true warrior; sculpted body, an amazing will, strength both physically and mentally and his eyes always had a fiery passion for something much to deep for her to grasp a concept of. He was fighting for a reason. She came to realize that she would never be able to find out what fueled his nightmares, what made him so god-like in her eyes, what made him different from the others. She would never know. She shook her head at the miserable thought. She looked back up at him in concentration. He would leave and never return.

"So…" he broke the silence, his voice husky and dry, "…I guess this is it…?"

Diana couldn't help but grin and shake her head at him. He made it sound like some soapopera, but she couldn't blame him; she didn't know what to say either.

"Sorry, that didn't sound so cheesy in my head," He grinned sheepishly. They both remained quiet.

"Can't return here…can't speak about any of this…" She recited what her mother had said earlier,

"Can't see you again," He finished it for her. His eyes softened and he smiled at her reassuringly, the smile didn't touch his eyes, "what if I blindfold myself? And we elope to some deserted island,"

"and live the rest of our life with blindfolds on your eyes?" She giggled at the thought. It was amusing, but unrealistic.

"Just a thought," His smile quickly faded as he looked into her deep blue eyes. He sighed, looked up at the sky and yelled, "what am I going to do?"

"get stranded on a random island again," she replied with a large smirk on her face,

"With my luck, I'd probably end up on a island full of men," She raised an eyebrow, "not saying I haven't already…"

He grinned, this time it touched his eyes. He cocked an eyebrow and looked at her, "seriously, what am I going to do without you?"

They stood silently looking up at the star-filled sky. They remained still, breathing at the same pace till Diana finally broke the silence.

"Hermes is probably waiting for you," she back down at him, "you should go,"

"Yeah," He mumbled, still looking up at the sky. He looked down and caught a glimpse of her watching him before she turned around, all red in the face. He chuckled to himself. Without a thought, he reached out his hand and gently carressed Diana's cheek. She lowered her eyes so that the blue was concealed under her long eyelashes. She slightly parted her lips as he drew closer to her. He tilted his head slightly and reached. Diana held her breathe the moment their lips touched. It was soft, sweet, loving and too short. He cautiously pulled away from her and leaned his forehead on hers. They remained still, their breathes both uneven.

It wasn't the first time Bruce had kissed someone, but it was the first time he eagerly wanted to kiss them. He wanted the moment to be sweet, hestitant, lasting. He sighed, his breathe uneven. He closed his eyes and took in the feeling of their foreheads pressed together; it was warm. Her scent was enticing, drawing him in. He slowly opened his eyes and found her eyes still closed.

"I should go," He whispered as he gave her a quick kiss on her forehead and drew back and away from her. She watched him, her hands still extended as if to reach out for him. She simply smiled and watched him as he backed away into the corridor which took him to the Hall of Hermes. As he disappeared she slowly dropped her arms back down to her sides and sighed.

This is it.

* * *

**Author's Note**

* * *

Hi guys! All the reviews and comments have been helpful. I worked on this chapter a bit more cause it molds the upcoming chapters. I'm not sure if some of you liked this chapter or not, but hopefully the majority of you enjoyed it. Once again, it was a wordy chapter so I apologize for that. I promise the upcoming chapters will have more dialogue and 'stuff'. I'll be updating the next chapter soon! There will be some interesting developments! :)

Thanks again!


	4. Chapter 4

**Changing Tides**

* * *

CHAPTER IV: Nostalgia

'_Diana!' He reached out his hand trying to grasp a hold of her fading silhouette, but she was too far. Everything was dim and all he saw was her figure wrapped around in a white clothe, her back facing him. Bruce tried to run towards her, but his efforts were useless. No matter how much he tried he couldn't catch up to her; she continued to fade into the abyss. He continued to call out to her, begging her to return. His heart raced faster and faster. Where was she going? Why was she here? Where is this place? None of that mattered; he just needed to get to her, to hold her once more. _

_Finally, when the distance between them seemed to grow smaller he reached out his hand once more and got a hold of the robe she was wearing. Suddenly an eerie feeling surrounded him and he looked up and saw Diana glaring down at him. The white clothe suddenly bled a deep crimson red. The red overcame the white, eventually reaching her neck. Bruce was startled when he noticed that her once sapphire eyes had turned to a dark ruby color. He couldn't look away from her eyes, they enticed him yet horrified him. What was going on? He released the fabric and backed away slowly on his knees. His eyes widened when she called out his name in a soft, deadly whisper,_

"_Bruce,"_

He awoke in a deep state of panic; his chest heaving with every breath he took, sweat rolled over his entire body, his eyes were wide open with fear and his hands balled up into fists clenching at the clothe beneath him. He concentrated his eyes on the door a few feet away from t he foot of his bed. His breath was still rigged and he no matter what he did, he couldn't keep himself from calming down. These reoccurring nightmares seemed to get progressively more vivid. He flinched at the sound of a short sigh coming from beside him. Slowly and cautiously, he turned his head to see who or what it could possibly be.

There beside him, lay a beautiful young woman with long black hair. He held his breathe trying to recall who she might be. Was it Diana? Who was it? He didn't remember anything about the night before. Who could she possibly be? He slowly drew in closer to her to get a better look at her face. He didn't recognize her. It couldn't possibly be Diana. She looked strangely familiar to her though. The stranger shuffled in her slumber. Bruce remained still, observing her. Who the hell was she?

After a few seconds the young woman slowly fluttered her eyes open and gazed at Bruce from under her eyelashes. Bruce sighed a bit at the realization that it couldn't possibly be Diana-her eyes were green not blue. It still amazed him how familiar she looked. She just kept her gaze steadily on his for a few more seconds before she finally spoke

"Morning," her voice was huskier than Diana's. Bruce kept a cautious eye on her, still curious as to who she is and how she got in his bed.

"Good morning," He muttered, she smiled in response to his greeting, "I know this isn't the best way to start off the morning, but may I ask-who are you?"

She simply arched an eyebrow and looked at him in amusement, "perhaps you had too much to drink last night?"

Bruce shrugged in response, that couldn't possibly be true-he never drank. He waited for her to answer his previous question.

"Natalie? Fundraiser Party? Doesn't ring a bell?" She slowly rose up onto her elbows, stretching out her muscles and sighing in relief. She was wearing a white camisole with only her bottom lingerie on. He looked at her quizzically, did he sleep with her or not? Last night was a complete haze. He honestly didn't remember a thing, except for that nightmare.

"I'm sorry, I really don't remember a thing," Bruce apologized; it was the first time something like this had happened. He earnestly felt bad about it. Of course she wasn't the first woman he had slept with that he met at some party, but it was the first time he had forgot about it all. He looked at her one more time before asking,

"Did we-?"

"No," She replied bluntly, a hint of disappointment lingered in her voice. He couldn't help but grin – it was also the first time he didn't sleep with a woman in his house when she stayed over the night,

"Natalie?" She looked up and met his eyes once more and tilted her head to the side curious as to why he called her, "sorry, could you explain what happened last night? Everything that you remember that is,"

She raised an eyebrow and looked had him for a moment before she finally replied with a nod and a sweet smile, "sure,"

* * *

"Batman, could we at least come to an agreement of some sort?" The caped hero continued to follow him as he scouted over the rooftops in search of crime scenes. Bruce decided it'd be best to just ignore him, all this business about creating a league of superheroes sounded overwhelming for just the two of them to handle. Besides he had Gotham to look after. He looked over the edge of a tall building and spotted a crime in the happening. Two men were surrounding a helpless woman in the alley. One of the men reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out what looked like a knife. Batman quickly jumped off the side of the building and fell right down onto the two men.

Superman looked over the edge and winced in reaction to the scene that was taking place below him. Batman had just hurled one of the men into the wall making a crunch sound as his vertebrate crumbled. He looked away and waited for Batman to finish up the job. He knew better than to interfere the man in the mist of his job. When he looked over the edge once again, the Dark Knight was gone, and all that was left were the two men sitting against the wall, tied up and unconscious. The woman was hastily leaving the alleyway. Batman had disappeared. Superman looked around desperately, where had the man gone? When he was nowhere in sight, he narrowed his eyes and used his x-ray vision to try and spot him. After looking around a bit, he spotted him leaping across building tops further ahead. He sighed in disappointment, he would have to come and find him another day. He lifted off the building and began to fly away, leaving Batman to peacefully fulfill his nightly duties.

Bruce looked over his shoulder and spotted the red caped hero flying away into the night, back to metropolis. He sighed in relief. There was too much on his hands at the moment. Handling the situation with Natalie and the reoccurring nightmares was already too much. He would find some time later on to discuss the matters with Clark. He would have to reject the man's offer, even if he wanted to help out; there was nothing he could do with the current state of Gotham. Gotham would always come first.

* * *

"Does it really change things?"

"Yes, I think your presence would help out a lot," Clark replied looking at her with a relaxed expression, "I think he's just worried that we don't have enough man power,"

She arched a perfect brow at him,

"-Sorry, you know what I meant," Clark replied shrugging his shoulders apologetically,

"So, this 'Batman' figure, why is he so important? He's just a human isn't he?" The dark haired woman leaned over the table waiting to hear Clark's response,

"You'll have to see for yourself," Clark took a sip of his orange juice,

Diana rested her chin on the palm of her hand and tilted her head and smiled as she looked down at the cup of coffee sitting in front of her, "Can't wait,"

* * *

**Authors Note:**

* * *

Hey guys! Sorry this chapter was pretty short and boring, but it's setting up the events that are to come! I've been really busy with school applications and stuff, so it's been hectic~##*($ (I'm sure some of you understand) But I started winter break today so I hope I could post up maybe two-three chapters this coming week. I'll make it worth the wait! :)

P.S: Natalie is NOT a real character in the DCU. Just a made up character that WILL play a semi-major role in this story.

Thanks for the comments and critiques! Hope you enjoyed the story so far~

Till next time-


	5. Chapter 5

**Changing Tides**

**

* * *

**

CHAPTER V : Reminiscent

* * *

"So tell me I got this right…" He began, humor laced in his voice, "You think I'm _the_ Batman?"

"You see…It's more of a 'know' rather than a 'think'," Natalie replied lightly. She knew this wouldn't be like the other games she's played before. Bruce Wayne was a witty genius while Batman was the world's best detective. She watched the young handsome man sitting in front of her. If she played her cards right she would get the prize that she desired.

Bruce continued to play on with the façade. There was no way someone knew who he was, she had to be bluffing.

"What makes you say that?" He cocked an eyebrow at her; he didn't bother hiding the amused tone in his voice.

"Intuition," Natalie grinned back childishly. Either she had the best poker face ever or she was dead on with her knowledge.

"I'm flattered to know that you believe I'm the infamous Dark Knight, but if your accusations are solely based off of your intuit-"

"-You know there's more to it," She cut him off. The woman spoke with complete confidence. Bruce couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the woman's stubbornness. She had reminded him of a certain Amazonian woman. She looked up to meet his eyes and tilted her head a bit to the side, puzzled by Bruce's sudden humor. Bruce just smirked and narrowed his eyes and looked her dead in the eyes and demanded,

"Prove it,"

Natalie opened her eyes wide in surprise before she quickly composed her face and replied back to his words of challenge with a witty grin.

No game was worth losing.

Diana flew by Clark's side as they traveled through the dark sky. She could feel his hesitant glances flicker upon her every now and then. After a few minutes of the irritating motion, Diana stopped midflight and waited for Clark to stop as well. She looked him stern in the eye and politely asked if anything was wrong.

"I'm not sure if you're prepared to meet him yet…" The man staggered, "He's not… like the other men,"

Diana remained quiet for a few seconds before replying back with a gentle voice, "Neither are you,"

"Diana, that's not what I'm talking about…he has a sharp tongue, he's rude and he's not one to enjoy ignorant comments," Superman wore a genuinely concerned expression on his face as he continued to rant on.

"As does my mother," Diana took in a short breathe and let out a long sigh, "Clark, I don't see what you're so worked up about,"

An awkward silence fell upon the two as Diana continued to stare Clark down trying to figure out what was really getting him all on edge about her meeting with the man. Superman tried to figure out a way to persuade Diana not to meet Batman yet. The Dark Knight was exactly what he placed him as; rude, unkind, calculative and harsh. But even beyond that, the sense of jealousy and the thought of possibly losing Diana to the man was a bit unnerving. Not that the two were even in a relationship or anything, but Diana had to be absolutely idiotic to not notice the growing attraction he had for her.

"I don't know. I feel uneasy about it all," Clark told her straightforward, talking in circles would get them nowhere in this situation. Diana had to think a bit before doing her next action; she closed the space between the two of them and reached her hand out to swipe a piece of Clark's hair to the side. Superman lifted his eyes to look into hers.

"You don't have to worry so much about me," She whispered gently. Before he could say or do anything, she went on ahead at a quicker pace than before. Clark just remained where he was, watching after her as her silhouette melted into the horizon. He clenched his fist tightly and muttered to himself,

"I can't help it," Then he flew off after her at a more leisurely pace.

Batman remained perfectly still as he crouched at the edge of the tall gothic building. His mind was elsewhere today. He was rewinding the events that had happened the past few days; Natalie, the dreams and his identity. It began to rain hard on Gotham City. The permanently gloomy skies had started to churn into an even darker, gloomier shade. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to sum up some solutions for biggest issue at the moment – Natalie. _Who was she? How the hell did she know he was Batman? And how did she even end up in his bed?_

He still couldn't remember what had happened the night before he woke up in bed with her. What seemed even more bizarre was her strange resemblance to Diana. He'd curse God for his horrible luck with women.

There was a light thud sound coming from behind him. He clenched his jaw tightly, assuming it was Clark again, but when he turned around his eyes widened in surprise as to what he saw. Standing there in front of him was an embodiment of a Goddess. She was wearing a long velvet red cloak over her tall figure. Her long sleek black locks settled below her slender shoulders. Her eyes, a vivid blue, were even further contrasted by the dull grey surroundings. Bruce had to keep himself from collapsing to the ground when he realized that the beautiful woman standing in front of him was Diana. _Diana_. His lips parted bery slightly at the sudden realization. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. He almost cried out her name when he reminded himself of the trouble he'd be putting himself through if he did call out to her. He would expose his identity and would break the oath he had made five years ago. Bruce bit his tongue slightly to prevent any accidents from happening, he couldn't take any chances.

Diana just stood there observing him. So far she was impressed by the human. He was in a ready-defensive position; legs apart, knees bent, back bent and arms flexed-ready to handle any attack. Though his eyes were concealed by white lenses she could feel his intense glare. He was carefully calculating and analyzing her ability. For a mere human he was tall, well-built and intimidating-even for her. She started to wonder as to what he might look like under the dark mask. Perhaps he has some extravagant scar or a simply hideous face. Or perhaps he's just a normal looking human being. She couldn't help but smile at the idea of figuring out the mystery of what man lies under the persona Batman.

Bruce watched as Diana's lips flickered into a small grin. He snapped back into his Batman identity and demanded, "Who are you and what do you want?"

The woman kept a light smile on her lips. His voice was dark and musky, a wonderful combination, it made him even more intimidating.

"Acquaintances with Superman," She simply replied, he would know what she meant.

Batman narrowed his eyes, understanding where this was leading to. But how the hell did Diana know the Boy Scout? Did he end up getting stranded on that island as well? Before he could ask her any questions regarding her situation, the beautiful woman took a small step towards him and tilted her head to the side to look up at him through her long lush eyelashes. Bruce had to hold his breathe, afraid he might do something out of character.

"You must be _the_ Batman," She purposely accented the word to emphasize his title. Bruce's attention flickered between her eyes and her lips. Five years have passed and not a single day went by without him desiring to take her lips to his. He sighed in both relief and annoyance when a red caped figure landed a few feet away from them. Superman began to walk towards them, a faint expression of disturbance painted on his face. Bruce raised an eyebrow in amusement, it was a rare sight to see the big man ticked off. When Clark was merely a few feet away from them, he stopped and turned to glare at Bruce.

"I see you've already met," Diana took a step back and turned to face Superman,

"We haven't been formally introduced yet," She replied, "If you would-"

"-of course," He cut her off her hoarsely, "Batman, Wonderwoman; Wonderwoman, Batman,"

Bruce looked between the two with a humored expression. '_Which genius thought of that name?'_ . He chuckled to himself as he watched Diana and Clark talk quietly . He would need to somehow find a way to get some answers from her-quick. Had she come here to find Bruce Wayne? No, that's not possible… She didn't know anything about Bruce, besides it seems as though Clark's got an eye on her. He figured it'd be the best strategy to meet up with her as Bruce Wayne in order to get to the bottom of all of this. But how? How would he get her to meet up with him as Bruce Wayne without making it seem too planned out. The suddenly an idea popped up in his head, now all he needed was the perfect timing to play out his plan.

"Batman, you know why we're here," Clark started, "We need your help,"

"Gotham does as well, Superman," Bruce replied, he's probably said this at least six times at past week.

"What will make you change your mind?" Clark furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. His voice was filled with desperation as the situation had called for it. Bruce paused for a moment before asking,

"Why do you need _MY_ help?" Bruce muttered, "It seems as though you haven't done your share of research on possible candidates- if you have, then you should understand that there are plenty of other capable heroes with better qualifications,"

Superman backed off at that comment, he scratched his head completely lost as to what he could possible counter that argument with. Bruce couldn't help but grin in the inside, the Man of Steel was truly thick-headed and never thought things through. That was perhaps his biggest flaw.

"You have the resources, the intel and the most essential ability to making this happen – leadership. We need your help to get this project moving," Diana stated matter-of-factly. She watched him with cautious eyes, taking into word what Superman had warned her about earlier. Bruced grunted quietly but audibly,

"Then if you'd like to receive my help you should also understand something. The resources, intel, everything I do will require thousands of millions of dollars to fund. Where will you find that kind of money? On a news reporters salary? I highly doubt it,"

"Then what do you suppose we do?" Clark began to sound a bit hopeful, they were finally getting somewhere, "Robbing banks is out of the question,"

Bruce looked over at Diana and paused for a second before proposing a solution to the issue, "There will be a bachelor/bachelorette party at Gotham Country Club for the members of high society. It's the perfect place to gain some reputation and sponsors,"

Clark immediately stepped inbetween the two of them and glared intently at Batman, understanding where this conversation was taking them, "I'll go,"

"You're a reporter and there are more men than woman at these social gatherings," Bruce looked past Clark and at Diana, hoping she was up for the challenge. If she accepted the mission, then the opportunity to meet her as Bruce Wayne was assured. Diana gently pushed Clark to the side and looked up directly at Bruce with eyes full of intent,

"I'll do it,"

* * *

AUTHORS NOTE

* * *

Phew feels like it's been awhile since I posted up a new chapter, but here it is!

There are TONS of grammatical errors on this chapter, but I typed it up while I was at starbucks waiting for my college interview so I thought I'd check it later. I hope you'd be patient and understanding and either go over the grammatical errors or just wait till I finish editing this chapter. Thanks!

So, after reading this chapter I'm sure a lot of you are trying to calculate what the next events are going to be like and how they will take place. There are some completely unexpected aspects that are going to take place in the story during the next upcoming chapters and I hope you enjoy them. Again, I'm just experimenting with the story. The story is still processing in my mind and stuff will change as I go on with it.

Thanks for all the support up until now! See you soon~


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six : Wrong Place at the Wrong Time.**

* * *

Clark remained seated in the waiting-room of the dress store. He anxiously tapped his foot as he waited for the preparations to finish. Batman was a cunning human, he was the most brilliant man he'd ever met, but he also wasn't the most trustworthy. It was always business first for the masked man, he never took things personally. So what if he was putting Diana in potential danger? Diana was new to the world of men, politics and social gatherings. But then again, she was absolutely gorgeous with an awesome amount of charisma. Clark began to nibble on his thumb nail in deep concentration regarding the issue. Could he trust Batman with this plan? Or was it all for his personal gain?

His thought process was interrupted when the door leading to the dressing room opened and Diana slowly crept out into the room. Her figure was wrapped up in a long deep v-shaped wine-red dress. Her silky skin was peeking out from the side of her thigh. A deep cut up the dress accented her amazing figure. Her hair was now a little wavier than before, most of it was tied in a lose bun. The rest of it accented her beautiful cheekbones as the locks fell down to embrace her slender shoulders. The features of her face were even further enhanced with a little bit of make-up here and there. But most of it was natural, there wasn't too much makeup on her- it just goes to show how naturally beautiful the Amazonian woman was. Clark had to remind himself not to let his jaw slack. She looked absolutely amazing in the attire. He was about to call up Batman and demand that he let him go with her to the party as her date.

Diana paused in the middle of the room, a few feet away from Clark. She never had the opportunity to play around with make-up and experiment how she looked with it on, so she felt extremely awkward with it all on. It was all new to her and she was hoping that this was appealing enough to achieve her mission. It became silent for too long and she began to become impatient, waiting for Clark's opinion on her outfit for the night. She took a step forward and looked at Clark with stern eyes.

"so?" she asked impatiently. It got the man's attention.

"Huh?" Clark asked caught off guard, "oh…You look amazing,"

"Is it enough?" She asked as she looked at herself in the mirror at the side of the room,

"To?"

"Get some sponsors," Diana replied awkwardly. Clark kept himself from laughing. All of this and she was still intent on the mission at hand. He nodded,

"Yeah, I don't know anyone who wouldn't offer their support-man or woman," Diana just simply raised an eyebrow in slight amusement.

"We should get going," She replied taking one last glance at herself in the mirror.

Alfred walked into the ballroom and looked around carefully then quickly left the room and walked over to the kitchen and saw Bruce sitting there drinking a glass of wine. He arched an eyebrow in confusion and worry. His master never drank. Never. He quietly walked over to his master and dropped his hands on the table across from him.

"A cautious man should always remain cautious, Master Bruce," Alfred continued to watch as Bruce took another sip. Bruce looked up to his loyal butler and grinned slightly,

"I'm anxious Alfred,"

"This would not be considered the first time," Before Bruce would take another sip, Alfred quickly swiped the glass away from him, "May I ask what it is that's making you so antsy?"

"I don't know. Alfred, is it okay for me to deliberately break a promise? I mean…it's all so childish, I don't even know why I'm even getting all worked up about it,"

"Master Wayne, a good man once said, 'We promise according to our hopes, and perform according to our fears.'" Alfred smiled gently at Bruce, "Whatever you do, I will always trust in your decisions. You cannot possibly let me down,"

Bruce nodded and sighed audibly, "Wine was never my thing anyways,"

Alfred chuckled at his remark, "Neither were childhood crushes,"

Bruce quickly shot Alfred a surprised look, "How the he-"

"I have my ways Master Bruce. Now, don't you think it's time to do your own preparations for the party?" Bruce simply shook his head and laughed as he made his way out of the room,

"You are one scary man,"

"That I am," Alfred agreed with a grin on his face as he dumped the remaining wine into the sink.

Bruce walked around the room greeting former friends and new faces. He heard compliments about his good-looks, his money, his mansion and everything else, but he ignored all of it. He wasn't here for the fundraising or the social light. He was here in search of Diana. She was nowhere to be found and so he began to feel nervous. Perhaps Clark talked her out of it… it wouldn't be that surprising. Clark was noticeably attracted to her. He clenched his jaw at the possibility that those two might have something for each other. It's already been five years, she probably forgot all about him anyways. He ran his fingers through his hair as he saw a group of females walking over to him. Entertaining guests was easy, but entertaining them while his mind was subconsciously focused on something else would prove difficult.

"Hello ladies," He smirked as the three beauties came to stand in front of him. All three pairs of eyes were just staring up at him, admiring his good looks. Bruce was shrouded in an uncomfortable atmosphere; they were way too close for comfort. He felt the urge to back away and out of the encirclement the women created. Finally the awkward silence was broken when the tallest one of the three spoke up,

"So, you run Wayne Enterprises?"

The moment the words escaped her mouth, Bruce felt his shoulders slump. Next time, he'd be sure to tell Alfred to only invite guests with a high school level education, _at the least_. He stuffed all his witty remarks and disrespectful comments to the side and continued to play his playful playboy billionaire façade.

"I wouldn't say 'run', it's more like I advertise for them. If you know what I mean," Bruce replied with a boyish grin across his face. The three ladies squealed in delight at his charm. The exchange of flirtatious and idiotic comments continued for a few more minutes before Bruce saw a familiar figure entering the party. He made a barely audible sound that sounded something like a gasp when he quickly turned back to the three ladies,

"I'm sorry ladies, it seems I have some business to attend to," He shot them a quick smile and walked past them towards the woman. His face slowly shifted into a scowl as he began to assess why this woman would be here at a time like this. The dark haired beauty looked up and saw Bruce walking quickly towards her. She smiled innocently at him before he quickly grabbed her by her arm and led her to a quieter area of the room. She yelped in protest because of the tight grip he had on her arm.

"What is it? Ow! Let go!" Natalie protested as she tried to pry his hand off of her. Bruce just continued to glare down at her, clenching his jaw tightly.

"Oh, perhaps this is what the infamous bat-glare looks like under the mask," She grinned for a quick second before whimpering in pain when Bruce squeezed her arm a bit tighter, "Do you mind?"

Bruce's expression remained smug. After waiting a few seconds in complete silence, he finally released her. Natalie looked at her arm and gently rubbed the area where Bruce had inflicted pain upon her. '_This is definitely going to leave a bruise_' She thought.

"Why are you here?" Bruce asked, his voice was darker, deeper and definitely more threatening. His batman persona was slowly creeping out.

"Why can't I be here?" She replied with a playful tone, "RSVP only right?"

"You're not on the guest list," Bruce muttered. His gaze narrowing as he tried to figure out what kind of game she wanted to play tonight.

"My aunt is, I came in her place," She grinned as she watched Bruce's face change slightly into that one of surprise.

"Your aunt…"

"The mayor of Metropolis, Mayor Fleming," She stated matter-of-factly, "My mother was adopted, so we're not blood related,"

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows. Natalie was hard to figure out, even for the world's best detective. She would be considerably sly and deceptive one moment and then completely honest and normal the next. He didn't know whether he should label her as a large threat or not… either way he didn't trust her one bit. She seemed completely infatuated with the idea that he was Batman.

"Anyways, Mr. Wayne or should I say 'Dark Knight', let's make a deal," She began, "I keep my mouth shut about your entire outer affairs, and you… you clear out your entire schedule for the next week and go on a short trip with me,"

"A trip…?" Bruce repeated to emphasize how crazy it already sounded,

"Don't worry, it's not anywhere far. I know you get anxiety attacks when you're barely even a foot away from your beloved city," She joked and laughed a bit at her own joke, before she looked up and saw that his face was still stern.

"No," Bruce simply replied. There was no way he was going to take a break from Gotham for one week to fulfill a woman's fantasy. No possible way. Natalie just tweaked an eyebrow and turned to face the center of the room,

"Ladies and gentlemen!" She began to yell out, "I have a wonderful announcement regarding the man behind the multi-billionaire corporation 'Wayne Enterprise' –"

Bruce quickly covered her mouth with his hand, preventing her from continuing with the unmasking of his superhero identity. Whether she was bluffing or not, he wouldn't dare take the chances.

"Sorry about that. She was just publicizing her gratitude towards Wayne Enterprises for funding her party, please feel at ease…She's had a bit to drink," He apologized to the attentive crowd. Soon, they all turned their attention away and began to chatter. Bruce sighed before he turned back to Natalie who he was still muffling with his hand. Her eyes glinting in amusement. Bruce glared at her before saying,

"Two days," He muttered, "that's all,"

He dropped his right hand down to his side and began to turn away when Natalie suddenly ran up behind him and trapped him in a tight embrace. Bruce sighed deeply and attempted to pry her off, when he felt someone's presence. He turned his head to see who it was. His eyes widened in surprise to find Diana standing there watching the two with both a surprised and irritated expression. Bruce took a quick glance back at Natalie who unaware of the situation at hand, refused to let him go. He looked back up and met Diana's glare. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. They all were.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

* * *

_Hi guys! I know it's been a really long time since I've updated. And I'm sure there are some that were disappointed with this update because of the lack of contact between Bruce and Diana. In the next chapter, I PROMISEEEEEE There will be tons of 1 on 1 dialogue and "action" *hint hint*. I've somewhat figured out what direction I wanted to go with Natalie, but there's just way too many possibilities with her. Especially since she's a made up character. I really don't want to disappoint you guys so it'd be great if I got some your insights on who/what Natalie is and what I should do with her. Her character will slowly start to unfold and so will he relationship with Bruce._

_Keep up with the comments and reviews! And I'll try my best to keep you on your toes! :)_

_Enjoy!_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: By chance we met, by fate we part

* * *

"Diana?" Bruce managed to say her name despite the surprised spur-of-the-moment feeling he had tingling in his head. He watched her carefully; afraid she might disappear at any moment. He couldn't pry his eyes off of hers, the emotions stated behind them created a heavy feeling in his heart. Their first face-to-face meeting after all those years…it wasn't supposed to happen like this. It was supposed to be calmer, nicer, more casual and somewhat genuine. Not like this, not with Natalie's arms wrapped around him, not with a large crowd full of liars and scumbags surrounding them. He shook his head slowly in disappointment; he ground his teeth lightly and looked down at the floor. He heard her whisper his name quietly before she quickly made her way through the crowd towards the exit of the ballroom.

Bruce remained still for a few seconds, his head hanging on his shoulders and his hands balled up into tight fists. His eyes were shut tightly as he tried clear his head and think of what he should do next. He felt like a little child, he didn't know what to do in the present situation. It was the first time he blanked out like this. Then, relying solely on his prime instincts, he quickly shook off Natalie and pushed his way through the crowd, following after Diana. He realized he wouldn't know what to say to her even if he did catch up to her. Would he apologize? Would he hug her first? He shook his head and put those thoughts aside. He would find her first, and then everything else would come after.

Natalie remained where Bruce had left her. She skimmed the tips of her teeth with her tongue as she shook her head side to side with a partial grin placed upon her lips. This was unbelievable, everything was somehow starting to work out for her. All the players of the game, had simply lined up and were waiting to receive their calls.

"Talk about two birds with one stone," She muttered to herself before she walked over to a nearby sofa and plopped down on it. She called over a caterer who was carrying some drinks. She took a slow sip of her champagne before smiling to herself once more. She had always got what she wanted, and even now-it still hasn't changed.

"Diana!" Bruce yelled her name out in urgency. He had finally caught up to her outside of the mansion by the large circular drive way. He was merely a foot away from grabbing her arm when she spun around quickly and met him face to face. Bruce jumped back a little, totally caught by surprise. He couldn't look her in the eyes, and so he turned his face slightly to the side.

They both remained silent as a pair of drunk men wobbled past them. Diana shuffled her feet a bit as she slightly swayed back and forth, obviously uncomfortable in the situation. Bruce took a step forward and sighed quietly. He'd apologize to her, but for what? It wasn't as if he had dedicated himself to her five years ago. But there was still a driven need to apologize, and he didn't know why he felt that way.

"Diana, I-" His voice was barely audible, "-I'm so-"

"Bruce. We can't talk, I mean... we can't do this…" Diana's voice trailed off, he heard her take a deep breath, "let's just leave it at that,"

She was about to turn and walk away when Bruce's question made her halt, "Why did you come here?"

"I was sent into exile," She whispered, her breathing became uneven. Bruce took note of that, he would have to get some more information out of her later on.

"No, I meant, why are you _here_, at my manor," Bruce knew it was rude and she would probably be hurt by his lack of consciousness to her situation, but he didn't want to cut all ties with her here. If she walked away without getting any sponsors then his chances to associate with her as either Batman or Bruce Wayne would be shot. She simply smiled gently at him in response,

"I had some business to attend to,"

"As does everyone else, it's a singles party," Bruce remarked with a crooked grin, "What's the real reason as to why an Amazonian princess like you, is hanging around in a promiscuous place like this?"

Diana withdrew her smile and sighed before she looked at him straight in the eye, "When did you become such an asshole?"

"Shit happens," He chuckled lightly, "When did you learn to say such vulgar language?"

"Shit happens," She shot back at him, her annoyance with his smart-ass comments was steadily becoming opaque.

"You need cash," Bruce stated matter-of-factly. He took a good look at her up and down before saying his second comment, "a lot of it,"

Diana had to compose herself before replying back to his comment. He had caught her red-handed, "What makes you say that?"

"Oh, come on Diana…It's a rich kid's singles party, you don't look for money in a guy. And if you _do_ look for looks on a guy, you best check their medical bills first. I'd have a nice campfire if it weren't for their fear of having their faces melt off," Bruce replied grimily, he could promise her that more than half the stuff he said was true. There was not a man in that party that was worth her time, especially him.

"Bull's-eye, you caught me red-handed," She replied sarcastically, "looks like a mission failure,"

Bruce burst out laughing, the deep sound made its way to Diana's stomach and she couldn't help but cringe at the feeling. He still affected her the same way. Even though she was surrounded by men day and night, no one-not one of them, made her feel the way he had. His tirade quickly ended and he looked up to meet her eyes. His eyes were still the same shade of blue they were five years ago, they were still-if not more piercing and intimidating than before. It always sent a warm shiver down her spine. It pained her to think that he became such a douche bag. She mocked herself for thinking that nothing would've changed between them over the past few years. She believed that when and if she met him, things would be just like before-maybe even better. But she was wrong, and it hurt her but she knew she was just being naïve all along.

"Diana," her name just rolled off of his tongue in such a way that got her excited emotionally and physically. She quickly shooed the inappropriate thoughts out of her head, he was different now. He wasn't the Bruce from five years ago, she would need to continue to remind herself of that.

"Yes?" The tone of annoyance was slightly lifted from her voice,

"How much do you need?" Diana sighed obnoxiously at his question,

"None from you,"

"Oh come on, don't be like that-for old time's sake. Let me help out an old friend, hm?" A large grin was evident on his face. She really wanted to punch the lights out of him at that moment.

Right at that moment, a young man walked out of the mansion and onto the walkway. He had to squint his eyes to see if he found the person he had been looking for.

"Diana? Is that you?" He called out to her; his voice was a bit shaky. He's probably had too much to drink, Bruce thought to himself. He turned his attention back to Diana who was waving back at the other man. He grunted to himself in approval. She apparently knew what she was doing. Diana started to walk past Bruce, back towards the mansion to the man who obviously held an interest for her. She was stopped in the motion when a strong grip was tight on her wrist. She turned her head to see Bruce's piercing blue eyes gaze into hers.

"I'll see you soon," He whispered,

"That won't be necessary, we can't," She replied strictly. Bruce turned his head back to the driveway when he said his last remark before he let her go,

"We can still hope," Diana remained frozen; there was something behind his tone of voice. It was different than it had been seconds before. It wasn't cocky, it wasn't obnoxious, it was genuine-just like it was five years ago. Her eyes softened as it came to her realization that some things remain unchanged.

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Author's Note:

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Hey guys, it's been awhile! I really did miss writing this story, but I didn't miss it till I started it up again (if that makes any sense). PrincessJazzy really helped me get back into action by sending me a very supportive email. Thanks to her, my motivation is kicking in once more! I finally have the character bios solidified and I know exactly how I'm going to place Natalie in this story. Can't wait to hear from you guys! I'll be updating soon! ^^


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: YAY! It didn't take me an entire month to finally upload another chapter! :) Hurrah! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter- I sure did. Thanks for the support and C&C you guys have given me so far! This wouldn't be half as decent as it is now, without your undeserved help ^^ Thanks again!**

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**Chapter 8: Oopsie Daisies**

Diana quietly landed on the roof of a tall building next to a dark figure. Even though he didn't turn around to greet her, she knew he was already aware of her presence. She leaned on the railing and took a long and endearing look over Gotham. He never ceased to impress her. How one human can be the guardian over an entire crime-infested city continued to amuse her.

Over the past few weeks, she and Batman had become closer. She had to visit him every other day to give him tabs on her progress with the sponsors. He had helped create an alias for her as Diana Prince, Representative of the Wilson Corporation in Gotham City. How he got her the exclusive position of a wealthy corporation, she had no idea, but it worked out for the better of the situation. She was to pose as the representative and create a trusted partnership with the companies that were owned by the people she had been affiliated with the past month. Batman assured her that he would figure out the rest from there.

Diana boldly watched his figure from behind, approving of his well-built body and work ethics. He came out every night to patrol the streets of his beloved city. She was forced to come every once in awhile to inform him of her progress, but a majority of the time she came out on her own free will. She oddly found comfort in keeping him company on his patrols. They didn't talk much, and most of the time he completely ignored her existence but she preferred that over anything else at the moment. It came to her realization that she was lacking a friend, a person to just be there when she needed someone by her side. Though a majority of the population would freak at the idea of having Batman as a close companion, she enjoyed his mystique. Clark was kind and caring, but he wanted to be more than friends, and that always intervened with their time together. She spent more time running away from him rather than having a decent chat with him.

A small grin found its place on her lips as she humored the idea of having Batman as her closest friend. If she were to propose the idea to him, he'd probably just glare at her for a sum of two minutes then turn and walk away.

Her thoughts were interrupted when he silently turned around to face her and grunted at the sight of her pleasant grin.

"Did Clark finally grow some balls?" He asked looking back out to the city,

It took Diana a second to realize what he was referring to, and when she did she shot him a disturbed look, "No, and I hope he doesn't anytime soon,"

"Best be careful princess, he's got superb hearing," Though she couldn't see it, she heard a grin in his voice. She looked up at the dusky sky. It was always dark and gloomy in Gotham. The chance to see some stars would one in a million.

"Guess _everyone's_ busy watching the super bowl,"

"Either that, or I'm in the wrong city," He gracefully jumped off the platform and glided on to the next building top. Following him, Diana flew to a spot a few feet behind him. The man enjoyed his personal space and she was willing to respect that.

"How are things progressing?"

"The usual, Andy Wallace asked me out to dinner and Richard Madison asked me to join him at a meeting this coming Friday," Diana reported. He briskly turned around and faced her; his expression was monotone as usual,

"Are you going?" Diana's eyes darted around a bit before she answered hesitantly,

"I should, shouldn't I…?" Even though she had been getting accustomed to man's world through the past few months, there were still tons of things she didn't know. And one of those many things were relationships with men and how to convey them.

"That's up to you," He replied as he walked over to the sedge of the rooftop and looked over the side of the building, "Andy Wallace, wealthy entrepreneur. Owns several renowned country clubs over in Metropolis and other major cities, yet resides in a hellhole otherwise known as Gotham. Why do you think?"

"I don't know…" Diana shrugged her shoulders as she started to walk towards where Batman stood, "He grew up here…? He likes gloomy places…?"

Batman grunted at her and silently pointed a gloved finger to the streets below, "That's why,"

Diana looked over the edge and directed her gaze to where his finger was pointing. She examined the small crowd gathering at the entrance of a large night club. In the middle of the crowd was a familiar blonde man-Andy Wallace. She looked back up at Batman, who was carefully watching for a change in her expression,

"I'm not sure I understand…" She stated slowly,

"In a place where the economy is hell, the women tend to be easy," Before she could comment, he continued with his evaluation, "Yes; he has millions of dollars to spend on… 'high quality material', but in the end, money is still money. Spending it on moments of pleasure is not how he got his high status,"

Diana nodded slowly to express her understanding, "Where does this leave me?"

"From what I gathered… with you… he understands its business and not pleasure, but I wouldn't rely on that understanding. They do tend to get them mixed up," He looked back down at the crowd which was now entering the building except for Wallace and a brunette whom remained outside drinking and laughing. He looked back at Diana and noticed a worried and anxious expression tighten her features.

"It's up to you to decide. Only you'll know when you're prepared," With that last remark, the dark knight disappeared into the alleyways, leaving Diana to argue with herself as to whether or not she was prepared for this sort of assignment from the start. She wasn't simply dealing with rich men. She was dealing with rich men who had agendas of their own.

Diana walked past the enormous glass walls and into the Madison Brothers Corporation building. The building was impressive with its 25 stories walled with pristine glass. From the outside, visibility of the insides were denied, but from the inside, everything was as clear as day. If it weren't for the security cameras and tall ceilings, she would've thought that she was still outside.

She checked in at the security desk and was directed to the express elevator to the 25th floor. She thanked the guards and slowly made her way to the elevator while examining a brochure she snagged from the desk. It was some general information about the company. On the front was a picture of two men shaking hands with a firm certificate placed on a small platform in front of them. The certificate read 'Madison Brothers Corporation entitlement' and some other fine print that she could barely make out. She instantly recognized one of the two men; he was wearing a grey suit with a red tie, his hair was short and brown and his smile smooth and radiant. Richard was one of the more appealing men she had met the past month on her conquest to find sponsors. He had a very refined personality and a great taste in humor. Even after hearing Batman accuse wealthy men of having their own agendas in Gotham, she knew Richard was different. She assumed the man standing on the left in the photo was Gregory, the brother he mentioned a few times in their past conversations.

She quickly looked up from the brochure she was reading and pressed the up button for the elevator. She then flipped the brochure open and read some information on what the company did. It was large on creating and planning infrastructures in Gotham and many other cities. It was noted that they also did a lot of charity work for orphanages and homeless shelters. Then she read the associates of the company and almost gasped in surprise when she saw Wayne Enterprises listed as one of the major ones.

A loud ping notified her that the elevator had arrived. Her eyes didn't leave the typed words as she made her way into the elevator. As she entered the elevator, she walked right into someone. She jumped back in surprise, throwing the brochure up in the air. It had felt like she just walked into a brick wall. Diana rubbed her forehead swearing to herself for being an idiot. She bent down to pick up the brochure as she brushed herself down a bit. He cursed Bruce under her breathe for distracting her, even though he wasn't exactly the one to blame. Diana took a quick breathe before she composed herself and stood upright to apologize to the person she had bumped into previously, but found herself dead silent and unable to do so.

Standing in a sleek black suit was the man himself. Bruce Wayne. He just stood there watching her with a boyish look on his face. She wanted to rip the small grin off of his gorgeous face. She had to remind herself to close her slightly opened mouth so that she wouldn't look like a complete dumbfounded idiot. Instead of apologizing she quickly gave him a small nod and a smile and turned to face the front of the elevator. She then looked down with her eyes closed and sighed quietly.

"Speak of the devil," She muttered quietly under her breathe. Quite enough to be barely audible, but at the same time, the cynical part of her had wished he heard her. To her surprise, he had. He turned slightly to face her and looked down at her, his teeth slightly biting down on his barely visible tongue. Though he probably thought she couldn't see him because he was slightly behind her, she clearly saw everything from her peripheral vision.

A few seconds of awkward silence had passed before he cleared his throat audibly. Diana threw him a glance over her shoulder and quickly regretted it when she saw him watching at her without relent. Had he been watching her all along?

"Are you here to attend the meeting?" He asked her, his deep voice filled the small area, giving her a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had forgotten how attracted she was to his voice.

"Pretty sure this is an express elevator," She replied back smartly. She heard him chuckle quietly to himself.

"There are two rooms up there," His voice remained light, "The meeting room…and the _bedroom_,"

He embellished the last word and made it sound so much more perverse than it should've sounded. Diana gritted her teeth in response and turned to face him, but her irritation instantly subsided at the sight of his crooked grin. His beautiful blue eyes were intent on hers. They remained completely still, and Diana was starting to think that time had froze, when the elevator doors opened. She turned from Bruce and started to walk out of the elevator when a hand quickly pulled her back in and another pressed the 'close' button. She gasped in surprise when she felt his lips press tightly against hers as soon as the doors closed behind her. His hands found their way down to the small of her back as he pushed her up against the side wall of the elevator. Her eyes were still wide open in surprise and her breathing was obscured and rigid. She had to remind herself that this was completely wrong. She unwillingly brought herself to place her hands on his chest and push him away. Even though she had super strength, she found it impossibly difficult to move him away from her. She wanted to punch herself for being so weak in the presence of this one man.

"Don't-," She started to say when he gently gripped her wrists stationed on his chest and placed them up and above her head against the wall. His lips were centimeters away from hers when a smirk found its way on them. He was well aware that she could break out of this position with ease, but she didn't-rather… she couldn't. He held her arms there with only one hand now. His other hand came down to caress her perfect face. The backs of his fingers gently outlined the contours of her face. She watched his eyes as they traced the path of his caress. Then his touch stopped and lifted her chin so that their lips were less than a centimeter apart. She could feel his breathe on her own lips. The antagonizing feeling made her entire body shudder in response. He slowly lifted his eyes from her lips to her eyes, she saw a growing desire burn within them. And finally, he took her lips to his again. All anxiety and resistance grew weary and fled from her body. The gentle yet passionate kiss made her heart ache. She dreamt too often of this exchange between the two of them. The forbidden meeting of the two had made her desire for him even greater. She sighed and slowly fluttered her eyes open when he pulled back a bit and released his grip on her wrists. He gently pressed his forehead against hers and gazed into her eyes as he whispered to her, "Gotham Square, Six-tonight,"

Before she could decline he pressed the button that opened the door to the elevator and fled towards the room labeled 'Meeting Room A'.

She smiled to herself as she saw another 5 rooms labeled from 'A'-'F'

"There are more than two rooms," she muttered as she shook her head and walked towards the room Bruce had disappeared into.

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**Author's Note:**

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**PHEW! I haven't written a scene like that in awhile :P Hope it filled your appetites for the time being! **

**This is just to clarify the point Batman was trying to make to Diana earlier in the chapter:**

**She's trying to receive fundings for the future JL and she's found herself a few men who are willing to help. But she was under the impression that they just wanted to help a friend out, TILL Batman revealed to her that they had some secret intentions that she was unaware of. One of them being - To get into her pants. So Batman was warning her that if she's not ready to take on such a challenge that she should back out in the mean time.**

**Thanks for reading! R&R please! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**

**Joe Stoppinghem: Thanks! I always thought I babbled and lost focus too often but I guess not :)! English is not my forte so I tend to think negative of my writing.**

**Shesxsuperxfreaky: Thank you! That just made my day, haha. Sometimes I wish someone else had written this story so that I could take a read at it and get the vibe you guys get from it. It's great that you enjoy it so far! ^^**

**New record! Three updates in a week :P Hopefully a fourth on it's way~ This chapter was less productive-it's just a little more about some side characters and Diana. I promise the next update will get the story in motion once more!**

**Thanks for the C&C's! They really do help me get through those horrible Writer blocks I get so often :P**

**Read, Enjoy & Review!**

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**Chapter 9: Priorities**

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Diana glared intensely at the minute hand as it finally made its way to number 12. A small chime was heard, notifying the people in the waiting room that it had just become five o'clock. Richard had asked her to stay awhile after the meeting so that they could go grab a coffee and talk, but the meeting had finished a little more than an hour ago. She bounced her heel quietly; irritated that he hadn't kept in mind that she might possibly be running on a schedule-which she was. She took a glance around the small area which was labeled as the waiting room. There were a number of people who looked as irked as she was. They constantly checked their watches, tapped their feet and sighed obnoxiously. She felt an involuntary grin form over her lips. Though man's world definitely wasn't as peaceful and quiet as her former home was, it was fulfilling and exciting. There was something new to discover and learn every day. Living eternally was pointless if she couldn't explore and age mentally with the future. Her life on Themyscira would've been dull and if age couldn't kill her, she would eventually kill herself. She paused in the midst of her thoughts before she shook her head and reprimanded herself for what she had just stated. She probably wouldn't go to that extreme. To sum it up, she pretty much enjoyed her time away from the island for several different reasons, one of which she was too shy to express, was her reuniting with her knight-Bruce Wayne. She laughed quietly to herself, amused by what she had titled him as. Though the bipolar act he was putting up was a slight turn off, he was nothing less than a knight for a princess.

Subconsciously at the thought of Bruce, her hand was brought up to her lips and her fingers lightly grazed the soft flesh he had taken to his not too long ago. Diana's cheeks flushed in light pink as she remembered every bit of the moment which had lasted far too short for her liking. She suddenly gasped when she realized the appointment he had with him at six. She looked back up at the clock which now read 5:17. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek on her palm. She bit her lower lip as she tried to sooth away the frustration boiling up inside of her. She would wait ten more minutes for Richard and that's it. After those ten minutes are up, she'll ditch this place and go get dressed for her meeting with Bruce.

Just as she sealed the deal with herself, Richard bolted into the waiting room. His hair was a mess, his tie crooked and his faces contorted as he was out of breathe. Diana raised an eyebrow in both surprise and amusement at his appearance. His eyes were wide open and scanning the entire room for her. Finally he spotted her sitting in the farthest corner of the room with an uncomfortable look on her face. He raised his hand up and motioned for her to come with him. She rose quickly and silently and fled the room following after him.

As they walked side by side down the hallway Diana couldn't help but try to inch away from him little by little. He reeked of B.O and though that usually doesn't repel her-his obnoxious uneven breathing slightly unnerved her.

"Aren't you going to ask?" He asked her, his speech rigid and uncomfortable,

"About?" She didn't know what to exactly ask him. If she did ask a question it would've been something impolite or rude such as- 'Did you get thrown out the window on the 25th floor?' or 'Did you discover your paper shredder was multi-purpose?' so she just decided to go without either.

"Where we're going, where I've been, why I look like such a mess. Any one of those would do," He laughed nervously as he held open the door for her. They were now walking on the sidewalk towards the parking garage a few yards away.

"Okay then," Diana smiled and looked up to him as she asked, "Where are we going? Where have you been? And why the hell do you look like you just came back from an adventure at Jurassic Park?"

"That's more like it!" He smiled brightly at her as he opened the passenger door of his Porsche for her, "We're going to Café Lange's by Gotham Square. Unless you want to go elsewhere-but they have the best biscuits,"

She stepped into the car and nodded him a quiet thanks as he shut the door and walked to the other side of the car before continuing.

"Now for the other questions," He started as he settled himself into the car. He paused and looked directly at her after he turned on the engine, "Brace yourself-you'll be totally engulfed in awe of me,"

Diana just smiled and nodded slowly in anticipation of what his answer might be.

"I-," He cut himself off to build the anticipation, "-ran down 25 flights of stair as fast as I could to keep a beautiful young woman from waiting for my sorry-ass any longer than she should've,"

Diana froze in the realization of what he had just said. Sure she heard people call her beautiful in the past, but it was only the second time someone had said it in a context other than a friendly one. She didn't know what to say, but thankfully before she was forced to say something he backed the car out of the lot and started on a different subject.

"Did you find the meeting OK?" He asked, his eyes were trained on the road.

"Uh- Yeah, it was very informative. I've never been to a business meeting before," She reluctantly admits. The awkward atmosphere still clung despite the change of topics. She started to remember what Batman had told her earlier that week, about men having their own ideas about her. She shivered at the thought. Surely Richard wasn't like that. Hopefully.

"Really? Never?" He threw her a side glance that had an overly shocked look on his face. Diana smiled at the motion, "Well, there's a first for everything,"

"Yeah," Her voice became distant as she looked out her window at the tall buildings. Every person walking on the sidewalk looked at them as they drove by. It was expected though, it's not every day you see a Porsche drive by in Gotham. It was slowly becoming dark and she tried to look at the rooftops now – wondering if Gotham's dark knight was patrolling tonight. It was probably too early for him to come out. She quickly spun around in her seat to look at the time and it read, 5:30. She had to try her best to keep from sighing in front of Richard. Her date with Bruce would have to be postponed.

Richard noticed the wary look on her face and thought it'd be best if he asked her if something was wrong.

Diana kept in mind that she was absolutely not allowed to discuss past relationships with Bruce or even continue to see/meet with him as she has up until now. She would keep her relationship with him a secret from Richard for the time being.

"I had to meet up with Mr. Wilson's secretary at six, but I'm sure she'll overlook it. It wasn't anything important," She tried to dismiss his worries. Right now, creating a strong relationship with Richard was the priority. After this whole deal with the funds she'd have some time to figure out her personal life.

The small talk continued till they got to the café.

"Good evening, have you both decided what you would like?" The female waitress asked as she whipped out her small notepad.

"The usual," Richard smiled to the waitress as he handed her the small brochure which served as the menu.

"Of course, Mr. Madison," The waitress smiled back. Richard turned to Diana and motioned for her to take her time deciding on what she would like to order. She hesitantly looked back at him and then up at the waitress,

"The same," She smiled politely. The waitress nodded and told them she'd be right back with their orders and left the two of them alone.

"Seems like you like to come here a lot," She started the conversation as she folded her hands on her lap under the table.

"Gotham's truly a disgusting place, but even in one of the dirtiest places known to man-there's a haven," He placed his elbows on the table and intertwined his fingers under his chin as he turned to look out the window to the width of green plantation on the other side of the street, "Gotham Square is one of the most beautiful architecturally designed places I've ever been to,"

Diana looked out and saw the place he was referring to. The place where she was suppose to meet Bruce in less than half an hour. There were beautiful stone arches sticking out of the shrubs and tall trees. The area was large and grand. It was actually the first time she ever saw so much green in one place in Gotham. As Richard had said, it was beautiful. But it was far from the gardens she had walked through in Themyscira.

"This place has the best view of the overall square," he added. Diana looked back at him feeling like there was more to it than just that-she was right.

"It's also the place I had my last meal with my mother," He whispered quietly. Diana held her breathe and closed her eyes as she bowed her head in understanding.

"I'm so sorry," She expressed her sympathy with a soft voice, "What happened?"

"She went to buy me some ice cream from the stall that was always at the center of the park-I was 13," He breathed a deep sigh reminiscing what had happened to her.

They remained silent for a short moment before he cleared his throat and demanded a change in the subject.

"It was because of my mother that I've been able to be this successful," He commented as the waitress placed their orders on the table. Diana nodded in understanding as she took a good look at what Richards 'usual' was. She assumed the coffee was light Americano with a serving of miniature blueberry scones on the side. She nodded in slight approval-she preferred her coffee black.

As they continued their conversation, Diana took a glance at the clock in the Café and bit her lower lip in dismay. It was a minute past six. She looked out the window to the meeting place and almost jumped in surprise when she saw a figure that looked exactly like Bruce sit on a ledge directly across the street from her. He was facing her, but he wasn't looking at her. His hands were stuffed in his dark trench coat as he looked up and down the sidewalk-probably in search of her. She didn't notice her fingers tapping her cup of coffee till Richard called her name,

"-You know what I mean?" He asked her. Unfortunately she wasn't paying attention to anything he had said before that and had to apologize for spacing out.

"That's fine. I was just saying how it'd be wrong to against our mother's words. After all they always do what's best for us, right?" He smiled gingerly at her. Her lips thinned at the irony of the situation she was in and the conversation she was having. 'Mother knows best,' she chuckled to herself. She would throw a fit if she saw how miserable her daughter was for not being able to see the man she had banished from ever seeing Diana again. Diana looked back out to the park to find Bruce gone as she answered his question,

"I completely agree,"

Diana quickly fled into the nearest alley that would conceal her from any eyes. Though Richard had kindly offered to drive her to her apartment in Metropolis she declined explaining that she had to drop by somewhere before she headed home. In reality, she needed some closure and the only place she would find it is with someone who patrolled these streets.

She sighed loudly as she ascended into the dark sky in search of Batman. He always started his patrol downtown, where the crime rates were the highest. As she made her way there she realized that she didn't know what she would say to him or why she even found the man to be comforting to be around as she mopped about her relationship with Bruce. Maybe that's what she needed; someone who didn't really care, someone who didn't want to talk about it. She smiled to herself, what if Batman actually sat down with her and listened to her as she cried over her problems. He'd probably diagnose her as a psychotic slut or something.

She landed on the rooftop of the building she usually found him on by this time of the night, but strangely he was nowhere to be seen. Diana turned in circles as she tried to locate the mysterious man but he wasn't out tonight.

She bit her lower lip as she tried to imagine why he wouldn't be out tonight on such a religious task. Then she came to the conclusion,

_He probably had more important matters to attend to_.

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**Author's Note:**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Of course I end it with a sort of 'bang'! (I love those sort of ...thingies (idk the right word)). **

**Anyways! As I promised, I'll try to update another one by the end of this week with a little more "UMPH" in it. Jump Start the relationship between Bruce-Natalie-Diana and possibly Richard (?) hehe. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**R&R! :) **


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